Discover the key elements to craft a compelling employee value proposition (EVP) that attracts and keeps top talent engaged.
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Employee Value Proposition (EVP): Insights and Guide
Boost engagement and retention with a human-centric employee value proposition
In today’s talent landscape, organizations must develop an employee value proposition that resonates with the modern workforce, and aligns with the best talent attraction strategies.
Download this CHRO EVP guide and:
Discover five essential management principles behind a successful employee value proposition framework.
Cultivate key attributes for today’s talent market.
Create an actionable plan for measurable progress on your EVP transformation.
See Gartner research in action at our HR conferences and events.
Design a world-class EVP to attract and retain top talent
To win and retain top talent, CHROs must create a modern, differentiated and holistic employee value proposition that showcases clear EVP benefits.
EVP Fundamentals
Human-Centric EVP
Differentiate Your EVP
Identify the goals for the employee value proposition and its key attributes
The employee value proposition (EVP) captures the set of attributes that external talent and internal employees perceive as the value they gain by working in an organization, serving as cornerstone of employer branding.
To design a compelling employee value proposition, or update it to keep it relevant, first verify the talent goals you want the EVP framework to drive.
For example:
Increase employee engagement and discretionary effort (including among new hires).
Decrease annual employee turnover.
Reduce the compensation premium needed to hire.
Reach deeper into the labor market to attract passive candidates.
Also identify problems you’re trying to solve with your employee value proposition updates. Examples include:
Misalignment between the employee value proposition and business strategy or between the EVP and employee preferences or experience at the organization
Overly generic EVP indistinguishable from competitors’
Lack of EVP differentiation for critical talent segments
Excessively long EVP design process
Your employee value proposition design team should include HR and line executives, heads of brand and communications, key business leaders and existing employees — and even candidates, if you can find a way to pressure-test the EVP with them and get their feedback.
4 principles of effective employee value proposition design
When it comes to the EVP design, ensure your employee value proposition is:
Appealing to both internal and external audiences. The EVP should incorporate specific components that address the needs of prospective candidates as well as current employees.
Authentic — aligned with the organization’s brand and values.
Relevant in its alignment to organizational strategy, adaptable as the organizational strategy changes and sensitive to major changes in what top talent values.
Differentiated from competitors, capitalizing on attributes that your organization is strong in delivering compared to competitors.
Gather data from employees, the labor market and talent competitors to help you prioritize your design decisions. For example, understanding the highest-impact attributes for core and growing talent segments will comprise your organization's core EVP; at the same time, understanding how employee segments' preferences differ will allow you to customize the EVP.
As important as the employee value proposition design process is, your success will depend heavily on how you communicate your EVP to employees and the external labor market (through employment branding). The best organizations focus about 80% of their effort on fulfilling EVP promises and 20% on defining the EVP — not the other way around.
Transform your employee value proposition to integrate whole person well-being
In a work environment transformed by disruption, an employee value proposition must deliver a more “human deal” that focuses on the whole person, their life experiences and ultimately, the feelings the human deal creates.
What is a human deal?
Traditional employee value propositions focus on what an organization offers its employees — such as compensation and health benefits. A human deal reframes the “what” to the “why” by focusing not only on what the organization offers, but why those offerings matter personally and emotionally and how they connect with the individual’s life experiences. An example would be health benefits extended to an employee’s family members.
3 key principles of the human deal employee value proposition
Traditional EVP management principles no longer apply to today’s work environment. A human deal EVP rests on the following premises:
Employees are people, not just workers — a core idea behind a humanized employee value proposition. Employees have families, communities they belong to, interests and hobbies. However, while 82% of employees say it’s important for their organization to see them as a person, not just an employee, only 45% of employees believe their organization actually sees them this way.
Work is a subset of life, not separate from it. Organizations have traditionally seen work and life as separate. A modern employee value proposition acknowledges that employees thrive when their work experiences support other areas of their life. Thinking about work as one of many aspects of employees’ lives enables you to design the employee experience harmoniously with these other aspects.
Value comes through feelings, not just features. Despite efforts to provide unique features, such as “bring your pet to work day” or game rooms in the office, only 31% of employees say their organization offers a unique experience. Instead of adding more features to your EVP, focus on understanding how the features make employees feel. Employees who report positive feelings are 65% more likely to be satisfied with their employee value proposition.
The human deal has five components, each of which aims to generate a specific emotion in employees:
Deeper connections help employees feel understood by strengthening their family and community connections, not just work relationships.
Radical flexibility helps employees feel autonomous by providing flexibility in all aspects of work, not just when and where they work.
Personal growth helps employees feel valued by helping them grow as people, not just as professionals.
Holistic well-being helps employees feel cared for by ensuring employees use holistic well-being offerings, not just ensuring they are available.
Shared purpose helps employees feel invested in the organization by helping the organization take collective action on purpose, not just make corporate statements.
When organizations make progress on any part of the human deal, they see clear benefits, including increased intent to stay, employee wellness and likelihood of recommending the organization to others. What’s more, the human deal increases employee satisfaction with the EVP by 15% reinforcing the role of EVP in engagement and retention.
Go beyond legacy approaches and embrace bold EVP strategies to beat the competition
Evolving location strategies, competitive compensations and competition for skills are factors that all contribute to the complexities of today's labor market. These challenges make it crucial for organizations to find innovative ways to stand out from their competitors with an EVP that goes beyond legacy approaches. Some of these bold employee value proposition strategies include the following:
Augment compensation and benefits. While compensation and benefits have always been important, organizations must now explore greater scope and scale to create new and added value that disrupts employees’ decision making. This may involve innovative approaches, such as performance-based bonuses, flexible work arrangements or unique perks that go beyond traditional offerings. By augmenting compensation and benefits as part of a compelling employee value proposition, organizations can differentiate themselves and attract top talent.
Pay with time. In today’s labor market, employees value work-life balance and time as much as compensation — making time-based offerings a key differentiator in your employee value proposition. In addition to flexible work options, four-day workweeks offer a powerful way to disrupt compensation-based competition. Forty-one percent of workers would switch jobs for a job that was exactly the same, except it offered a four-day workweek with reduced hours.
Invest in your own people. By increasing investments in training, upskilling and career development programs, organizations strengthen their employee value proposition by showing commitment to long-term employee growth. Forty-two percent of workers would switch jobs for a role that was exactly the same as their current role but offered upskilling to explicitly increase their performance in their current role or to help them progress along their career path.
Expand the talent pool. Many candidates seek positions outside of their present functions, and organizations can enhance their employee value proposition by welcoming candidates from nontraditional backgrounds.. This inevitably leads the organization to disrupt compensation-based competition by expanding talent pools and creating more opportunities to fill critically needed positions.
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27 – 29 Oct 2025
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FAQ on employee value proposition
What is an employee value proposition (EVP)?
The employee value proposition is the set of attributes that the labor market and employees perceive as the value they gain through employment with the organization.
What are the key components of a strong EVP?
A strong EVP comprises a combination of benefits, rewards and experiences that an organization offers to attract, engage and retain talent. Key components include competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, growth opportunities, a positive work culture, work-life balance, alignment with company values and a clear career path. Communication of the EVP is also crucial to showcase the organization’s unique value and differentiate it from competitors.
How can I measure the effectiveness of an EVP?
To measure EVP effectiveness, use quantitative metrics like:
Retention rates
Engagement surveys
Productivity metrics
Qualitative measures include:
Employee feedback
Employer brand perception
Recruitment metrics (such as qualified applicants and time-to-fill)
Regularly analyze these metrics for insights into EVP impact on attracting, engaging and retaining talent.
Drive stronger performance on your mission-critical priorities.